More 8K displays are coming in the first half of 2018

Don't throw away your 4K monitor or TV just yet.

I replaced my big screen 1080p television with a 4K model just a few months ago, and with it I should be set for at least a few years to come. Nevertheless, technology marches on, and the next frontier is 8K. Granted, it will probably be a long time before 8K displays become commonplace, but don't be surprised if you see vendors trying to sell fancy new models in the near future. It could be sooner than you think—Liao Wei-lun, president of AU Optronics' video products business group, said AUO will start shipping 8K TV panels in the first half of this year, Digitimes reports.

And so here we go. These panels will range in size from 65 inches to 85 inches, so obviously they're aimed at the TV market, not computer displays (unless Nvidia adopts them for its Big Format Gaming Display initiative). Still, it means that 8K is on the move, so brace yourself.

It will only be a matter of time before we start seeing a bunch of 8K monitors as well. Dell already introduced one (UP3218K) around this time a year ago, a 32-inch monitor with a 7680x4320 resolution at 60Hz. That equates to more than 33 million pixels—four times more the amount found at 4K, and 16 times as much as 1080p.

Our own Jarred Walton has as actually laid eyes on Dell's 8K display and described it as "absolutely stunning." It ended up being our pick for monitor of the year.

One of the downsides, of course, is that you need a massive amount of graphics processing to handle that many pixels when playing games. Today's graphics cards just don't have the muscle.

AUO did not say how much its 8K TVs will cost, but at 65 inches and larger, you can bet they will command a hefty premium.